Parking Path Registration Using 3D Landmarks for Assist Start Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parking assist systems require the vehicle to be near the registered parking position to detect entrance feature points, limiting convenience and potentially failing to start parking assist control if the vehicle passes the registration start position during notification.
Innovation Solution
A parking assist apparatus that registers a path from a start position to a parking position, using image and three-dimensional object information to calculate relative positions and notify the driver when the path can be started, allowing for continuous parking assist control even when the vehicle is distant from the registered position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the vehicle is required to be near the registered parking position to detect entrance feature points, then the parking assist control can be reliably started, but the convenience and usability are reduced due to limited starting positions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary path registration in advance, storing the complete path from start position to parking position including multiple sections. This allows the vehicle to start from any section along the registered path rather than requiring proximity to the parking position, thereby improving convenience while maintaining reliability through pre-acquired environmental information
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from detecting only entrance feature points (one-dimensional approach) to registering the entire path with multiple sections (multi-dimensional approach). By dividing the path into multiple sections and registering comprehensive spatial information, the system enables starting from any section along the path, expanding the operational dimension and improving usability
2Ease of operation
If the notification is performed while the vehicle is traveling, then the driver is informed of parking assist availability, but the vehicle may pass the registration start position before the driver can press the start button
Solution Approach 1:
The system notifies the driver in advance when the vehicle enters a state where parking assist control can be started, providing the driver with sufficient time to respond. The notification system alerts the driver before the vehicle passes the optimal starting section, ensuring reliable initiation while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous feedback to the driver about the vehicle's position relative to the registered path and notifies when parking assist can be started. This feedback mechanism includes alerts that inform the driver of the available starting window, enabling the driver to make informed decisions and successfully initiate the parking assist control
Data Source
AI summary
A parking assist apparatus includes an image pickup device, a three-dimensional object information acquisition device, and a control unit which executes parking assist control. The control unit registers in a storage device a path along which the vehicle has traveled when the driver has driven the vehicle from a start position to a parking position as a registered path together with a feature point extracted from a surrounding of the path and a three-dimensional object included in the three-dimensional object information, calculates, when a feature point and a three-dimensional object are detected, the registered path based on the positions of the feature point and the three-dimensional object, and notifies the driver, by display or a sound, of a first section in which the parking assist control can be started when a start condition which is satisfied when it is determined that the parking assist control can be started is satisfied.